Chap Hop
tagStarted 2008Peak 2010-2014Last big hit still activeFrom United Kingdom
Located in 2 routes
British comic rap delivered in plummy Received Pronunciation over hip-hop beats, satirizing English gentility: tea, cricket, pipe-smoking, and proper manners. The sound pairs rap cadence with banjolele, brass, and steampunk-flavored arrangements, the joke riding on the collision of posh diction and bombastic boom-bap.
History
Jim Burke, as Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer, originated chap hop in the late 2000s, rhyming about etiquette and cricket over banjolele. Paul Alborough's steampunk Professor Elemental gave it a second pillar, his tea anthem 'Cup of Brown Joy' going viral; a staged 'gentleman's feud' between the two, resolved on 2012's 'The Duel,' defined the scene's playful identity.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chap_hop
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr.B_The_Gentleman_Rhymer
- https://www.masterclass.com/articles/chap-hop-guide